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#1
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
I recently returned from a long hiatus from skiing. I grew up skiing
but in the past 12 years (18-30) I skiied about 6 times, 1 of which was in the past 4 years (!) Getting back on the slopes & I am trying to emerge from the "ice age" (I skiied my best in the bumps on 203cm Dynastar Course SLs). I am 6'2", 210lbs. and categorize myself as an advanced/agressive skiier. I ski steep terrain, a mixture of bumps, groomed & whatever the new england weather brings, e.g. ice & granular. Sometimes I run full open, cutting wide arcs. I also spend a lot of time doing tight turns & hard bump skiing. Last weekend was my 1st weekend back on the trails. I demo'd 2 pairs of skis. Day 1: 181cm Atomic GS11's After 1 warmup run I was up on the steeps cutting turns with ease & about 2 hrs later I felt like I never stopped skiing. These skis were incredible - they seemed to carve well, were stable at speed, yet also were responsive in tight turns. I found that if I loaded the ski right and worked my carve I could get really fast action, even in the bumps. They didn't mistake me for a bump ski by any stretch, but were quite acceptable likewise. After skiing the GS's I was ready to say "sign me up" for a pair. I have skiied SL skis my whole live and was really suprised that I'd be turned on to a GS ski. Then again, when I was skiing in the 80's a GS ski was not good for much else (to me anyhow). Based on my experience with the Atomic GS11, I'd call it a good all around ski for an agressive skiier who does more than GS. If you are willing to work a little harder & trade ski forgiveness, the ski can be enjoyed in tight turns & bumps, as well as offer stability at speed and decent & performance on ice/hardpack. Day 2: 171cm SL11's These skis were also great. They had a noticably faster transition when turning, yet they also seemed to be pretty good at cutting wide turns. The SLs seemed more skiddish on ice than the GS's, but in fairness I hit more ice with the SLs and was a little tired from Day 1. The SLs were good, but I found them less stable on ice, which is a known quantity here in New England. Also I think the stability at speed affected by the shortness of the SL (171). The guy at the ski shop wans to put me on Atomic R11's (ride series) next as he thinks they would be the 'best of both worlds' for me. He called it an 'all mountain' ski, which seems to be quite the rage these days. Back in the day 'all mountain' skis struck me as "pretty good at everything but not great at any one thing", and definately not a ski for a hardcore skiier. Based on the above can I get some feedback on the following: 1- Am I way off base thinking that a GS ski would be a good fit based on my needs? 2- Does my assessment of the Atomic GS11 sound reasonable? 3- Does an all mountain ski fit the profile for my needs? I don't want ego or outdated logic to make me pass up considering a good ski for me. 4- Would I be crazy for passing up further demos if I loved the GS11? 5- Can you think of any other skis I may want to consider? Also FWIW, I will be running a set of Atomic Race 10.50 boots to replace my 13 year-old Munaris. Normally I'd never buy boots w/o trying them on, but the price was right, I can return them if I don't like the fit, & the reviews I read online sounded good. Because I am getting all new gear, I can't afford to try on boots at a shop & pay $500 for them. Thanks for your advice...! |
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#2
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
My last year race ski was a GS11. My play ski was also a GS11! By the way my
boots are 10.50's. I just loved that set-up. Rich C. |
#3
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
Glad to hear that seutp worked well for you. In the interim I have
bitten the bullet and ordered my gear: New 2004 GS11's (181cm) $433 shipped via ebay New 2004 R:412 bindings $178 shipped via Plaine's of Pittsfield MA I would much rather patronize a local ski shop but I simply cannot afford to gear up at retail prices - over $900 for this combo! What is a fair price to pay for mounting the bindings & what should I look for, e.g. an Atomic dealer or a shop who does a lot of race ski setups, etc? It would be rather rude of me to walk into my local ski shop with my dot-com gear since I demo'd their Atomics for 2 days for $50 total. When the guy found out that I bought my boots on ebay, he was like "Is your computer going to fix your gear when it needs to be serviced?" He does have a valid point...!) Thanks... (RCHRIS) wrote in message ... My last year race ski was a GS11. My play ski was also a GS11! By the way my boots are 10.50's. I just loved that set-up. Rich C. |
#4
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
Andrew wrote:
When the guy found out that I bought my boots on ebay, he was like "Is your computer going to fix your gear when it needs to be serviced?" He does have a valid point...!) Absolutely he does. |
#5
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
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#7
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
"Mary Malmros" wrote in message ... (Andrew) writes: snip I'd still strongly advise demoing 'em first, to get the length right. I own a pair of GS11s, also a pair of 10.22s which were their predecessor, and they ski differently. People advised me up front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of different lengths before I found the right one for me. I did my first ever GS race on Sunday on a borrowed pair of 10.22s They didn't feel like they "gripped" well do you reckon that's just me (I usually ski on Salomon 3Vs) or are the newer versions better? -- Chris *:-) Downhill Good, Uphill BAD! www.suffolkvikings.org.uk |
#8
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
"Mary Malmros" wrote in message ... People advised me up front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of different lengths before I found the right one for me. "skis long"? Does that mean they feel longer than they are, or that you need to get them longer than you would for other model skis? |
#9
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
"MoonMan" wrote in message ...
"Mary Malmros" wrote in message ... (Andrew) writes: snip I'd still strongly advise demoing 'em first, to get the length right. I own a pair of GS11s, also a pair of 10.22s which were their predecessor, and they ski differently. People advised me up front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of different lengths before I found the right one for me. I did my first ever GS race on Sunday on a borrowed pair of 10.22s They didn't feel like they "gripped" well do you reckon that's just me (I usually ski on Salomon 3Vs) or are the newer versions better? Did you try using them on any of the blue or green runs at Mt d'Arbois ? The terrain at Cote 2000 had a bit too many changes in pitch to make it easy to dial in a new pair of skis. The snow conditions also made it hard to get the feel for how to get them to carve cleanly, so you were using them for the first time on hard snow for the race itself. I'm right at the bottom end of the weight range for adult race skis, so I know to just go as short as possible. If you had been able to demo different sizes a slightly shorter pair might have been easier to use. Robert Swindells |
#10
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Advice on Atomic Skis - SL11 or GS11
Robert Swindells wrote:
"MoonMan" wrote in message ... "Mary Malmros" wrote in message ... (Andrew) writes: snip I'd still strongly advise demoing 'em first, to get the length right. I own a pair of GS11s, also a pair of 10.22s which were their predecessor, and they ski differently. People advised me up front that the GS11 skis long, and I had to try a couple of different lengths before I found the right one for me. I did my first ever GS race on Sunday on a borrowed pair of 10.22s They didn't feel like they "gripped" well do you reckon that's just me (I usually ski on Salomon 3Vs) or are the newer versions better? Did you try using them on any of the blue or green runs at Mt d'Arbois ? No, used my 1080's and 3Vs, I could have done on thursday but what with Bev's ankle it didn't happen ;( The terrain at Cote 2000 had a bit too many changes in pitch to make it easy to dial in a new pair of skis. The snow conditions also made it hard to get the feel for how to get them to carve cleanly, so you were using them for the first time on hard snow for the race itself. yep, and my first ever GS too, could have gone faster, should have gone faster! well there's always next time. I'm right at the bottom end of the weight range for adult race skis, so I know to just go as short as possible. If you had been able to demo different sizes a slightly shorter pair might have been easier to use. Bev and I have decided that next time we're on snow (well not Easter with her ankle just fixed) we'll have to try blasting on GS ski's, just to get used to them, demoing differnt makes and lengths is a good idea too. BTW can you send me those links you mentioned. -- Chris *:-) Downhill Good, Uphill BAD! www.suffolkvikings.org.uk |
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